What they said about Eastbourne "Not only is Eastbourne my home town but …the beauty of being sheltered by Beachy Head means that it has a unique micro climate and really is sunny all year round," former weatherman Michael Fish. "The seventh Duke of Devonshire and John Davies Gilbert … set out to develop the natural beauties of Eastbourne regardless of expense – hence the early description of the town as 'one planned for gentlemen by gentlemen,'" www.eastbourne.gov.uk.

Population District: 98,493.

Local politics The Liberal Democrats held on to Eastbourne borough council at the May polls with a reduced majority.

MP Liberal Democrat Stephen Lloyd is MP for Eastbourne.

Local authority Eastbourne borough council "performs poorly". After a period of "financial instability" it is starting to improve the way it manages its money and is spending on services that are important to local people. Services for homeless people are improving but others, including housing benefit, providing decent homes and recycling, are not improving well or fast enough. It fails to set clear targets and some services are "weak". East Sussex children's services "perform well". Adult social services are "performing well".

Job prospects The council has no skills shortages. It is relying on natural wastage, redeployment and "good vacancy management" to avoid redundancies.

Health service East Sussex hospitals NHS trust has a Care Quality Commission licence to run Eastbourne district general hospital; East Sussex Downs & Weald primary care trust and the mental health and learning disability trust, Sussex Partnership foundation trust, are CQC licensed.

Central government Revenue & Customs has offices there.

Environment/regeneration The council wants to install solar panels on all of its 4,000 council-owned homes. It says it expects future regeneration to be "largely" private-sector funded. Part of the district is in the newly designated South Downs National Park.

Voluntary sector There are 39 international, 51 national and 178 local charities in the town, with a combined income of £68m; 1,324 charitable trustees live there.